X Company must purchase a new delivery truck and is using the payback method to evaluate two possible trucks. Truck 1 costs $31,000; Truck 2 costs $44,000. The useful life of both is seven years, with the following estimated operating cash flows: Year Truck 1 Truck2
1 6000 7000
2 8,000 4,000
3 8,000 3,000
4 8,000 3,000
5 6,000 3,000
6 5,000 2,000
7 4,000 2,000
If X Company chooses Truck 2 instead of Truck 1, what is the payback period (in years)?
A: 2
B: 3
C: 4
D: 5
E: 6
F: 7

C: 4

Explanation:

The computation of the payback period is shown below:

Incremental investment in truck 2 is

= $44,000 - $31,000

= $13,000

Now

Year        Cash saving in cost    Cumulative

1                   -$1,000                    -$1,000

2                  $4,000                      $3,000

3                  $5,000                      $8,000

4                 $5,000                       $13,000

5                  $3,000                      $16,000

6                 $3,000                       $19,000

7                 $2,000                        $21,000